


Different

by Obrien_lover24



Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-12
Updated: 2020-02-12
Packaged: 2021-02-27 20:20:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 15,483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22681621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Obrien_lover24/pseuds/Obrien_lover24
Summary: AU. When a missing teenager is finally found, the town is ecstatic. However, he is not the same as he once was. And Bonnie wants to know why. Bonenzo.
Relationships: Bonnie Bennett/Lorenzo "Enzo" St. John
Comments: 10
Kudos: 19





	1. Chapter 1

I smooth my dress out, second guessing whether it is actually appropriate for an event like this. What are you supposed to wear to a celebration for the return of a formerly missing kid?  
"Is this dress appropriate?" I ask Elena as she straightens her hair on my bedroom carpet. She takes a second to study it and then nods her head.

"Yes. Why wouldn't it be?" She frowns in confusion. I'm wearing a green lacy dress that ends a little above my knees, so the length isn't a problem. It isn't too low cut but maybe a little bit low for tonight.

"It isn't too booby? Or too colourful?" I ask and she raises her eyebrows a little in surprise.

"As apposed to what, black?" She laughs. She isn't wrong, the green is dark enough. "For the love of god, Bonnie. We're going to a celebration, not a funeral." Caroline chimes in with her scolding tone. She knows how I tend to over think, and she doesn't hesitate to let me know. But she's right, in this situation, and it does help me relax a little.

"You're right. But now I'm starting to think it's too dark." I mock, mostly joking. I bite my lip for dramatic effect. Elena grins and rolls her eyes, jumping to her feet.  
"Let's go, now, before Bonnie starts over thinking her hair." She and Caroline both laugh and start putting on their shoes but her comment does make me worry a little bit. Is there something wrong with my hair?

We all sit in my Dad's car and bop our heads to his "old people music", as Caroline refers to it. He just laughs it off and makes some sarcastic joke about her not knowing what culture is. It's quiet for most of the drive but then Caroline breaks the silence.  
"I don't even know why we're going to this. It's not like we even liked Enzo St. John." Caroline suddenly says. It seems like she's put a lot of thought into the subject during the silent car ride.

"Caroline..." Elena raises her eyebrows at that comment and Caroline rolls her eyes. "Oh please, don't give me that look. It's great he's back, I'm not saying it isn't. I just don't see why we have to go to a party for it." Caroline tries to clarify in a rather defensive way.

"The whole town is going." My Dad jumps in, his tone surprisingly not disapproving. Maybe he agrees with her in some way. Caroline stays quiet after that, obviously forgetting that my Dad would be listening and feeling embarrassed. I myself had found it strange that the St John family would be throwing a party. I would have thought they would want to spend as much time with their son as possible. But I have never had to go through a trauma like that, maybe it's what they need. I had spoken to Enzo a couple of times before he went missing, he seemed nice. I felt sad when they announced the news. He was a slightly nerdy kid who spent a lot of time on his own. I borrowed a pen from him once, he held the door open for me another time and I told Tyler Lockwood to leave him alone when I saw him being harsh. That was it, the sum total of our interactions. He was bullied quite a bit, but of course his bullies were distraught with the news of his disappearance. I bet they will be here tonight, welcoming him back like they were best friends. I wonder if he will remember me, that I tried to stop them when I could.

The car comes to a stop outside the town hall where the party is being held. Elena, Caroline and I break away from my Dad as he heads towards Caroline's Mom, who is running security. Not that it is expected that security will be needed, it's just to make sure us teenagers don't drink more than our agreed 'one celebration drink'. We all head inside, Elena immediately searching the room for signs of Stefan and his brother Damon. Elena has a huge crush on Damon and Caroline has a huge crush on Stefan. They have been working together to win over the brothers.

"Caroline, they're over there." Elena nudges our blonde friend, whose eyes light up in excitement. And then they both look at me, clearly feeling like they should stay with me. While I would rather not be left alone, there is one thing I would hate more: being a burden.

"Go, talk to them. I'll go get some food and meet up with you guys in a bit." I put on my best encouraging smile. Caroline gives me a quick hug and immediately darts for the boys. Elena take a second longer to give me a proper thank you and then joins our eager friend. I immediately feel awkward standing on my own and so I turn to find anyone else I know. Someone I can stick to for a little while. All I see is adults, where are the other kids from school?

And then I see him. It takes me a few seconds to realise who he is, he looks so different. It's Enzo. He is no longer the nerdy kid I remember, he is way different. There's something about him that mesmerises. I can't take my eyes off him and I quickly realise that nobody else can either. All around the room people are watching him. And it's not just because it's a miracle he is back, it's something else. Everyone from my school that I couldn't find is there, around him. Talking to him, solidifying their friendship with him. Everyone wants to be his friend and I know that because I have the same urge.

I feel sorry for him, he must be overwhelmed with all the attention. A part of me wants to drag him away from the crowd and take him somewhere quiet to decompress. As if hearing my thoughts, Enzo looks over at me. I can't bring myself to look away, to resist the urge to stare like everyone else in the room. But he is staring back at me. His face is blank at first and I think he doesn't remember me. But then the corners of his mouth turn up into a smile and I can tell that he does. He remembers me.  
His smile is contagious, I can't help but smile back. He steps forward and just as I think he is about to start walking over to me, my thoughts are interrupted by a voice and I'm forced to look away.

"Wow, he got hot. Who knew that going missing did that to someone." Caroline whistles and I roll my eyes at her comment but the smile is still stuck on my face.

"Seriously, he looks like a different person." Elena joins in, coming to stand the other side of me. I look back over to where he stood, only to find that he is gone. He wasn't coming over to me at all. The smile drops off my face. Why do I have to be so bad at reading into things?


	2. Different chapter 2

I can't find Enzo anywhere. Not that I had specifically looked for him, that would be weird. I couldn't explain that to Caroline and Elena. 'I'm gonna go find Enzo because I just want to look at him some more'. Yeah, they would have a field day with that. Although I'm pretty sure they feel it too, everyone seems to. Maybe I was right and he was overwhelmed, that's why he took off. I wouldn't blame him, he has been missing for over a year, all on his own and now he's the centre of attention.  
I talk to Caroline and Elena, listening to them gush over how amazing Stefan and Damon are. For some reason I'm happy they haven't mentioned Enzo again. That they aren't considering switching from Stefan or Damon onto him like most girls from our school currently will be. A pang of jealously comes out at that thought. I've never really felt the need to search for a boy before, to know what he's doing, whether he's more interested in talking to someone else. But here I am, wondering where Enzo is and whether he's enjoying all of this new attention from all of the girls. The girls who completely ignored him, who let him get bullied, who laughed at it even. Girls who pretended he didn't exist. That's it, that's why I'm jealous. He's talking to all of these people who hurt him and here I am, the only one who ever helped him and he barely acknowledged me. That has to be it.

"Bonnie, are you okay?" Elena interrupts my thoughts. I realise that they have stopped talking and I am still intermittently nodding. They can tell I'm distracted.

"Yeah, sorry. I'm just feeling a bit spacey. I'm gonna go outside for a minute and get some fresh air." I fake a smile and Elena nods but I can tell she is concerned. I walk towards the door and out of the building with a big sigh. I need to get a grip, this isn't me. I don't get weird over a guy I barely know.

"That was a dramatic sigh." A voice sounds from behind me. I spin around to see none other than the guest of honour himself, Enzo. He's smiling at me. My cheeks immediately burn. "Not having a good time?" He asks.

"Yeah, I am. It's a great party." I quickly answer. This is his party. He shakes his head.

"No you're not." He disagrees, "but don't worry, neither am I." He sighs as he says it and I can't help but feel slightly responsible by coming tonight. Of course he wouldn't want a party.

"Any particular reason?" I ask just to keep the conversation going. I don't want an awkward silence to make him leave. I want to be alone with him, to get to know him. I want to understand why he's so different, what the terrible experience did to him.

"I'm not exactly a party person." He answers shortly and it seems like there is more to the reason. The look on his face is softer though and I realise how uncomfortable he really looked while he was inside, almost pained. I hadn't noticed without the contrast. I try to search my brain for something to say but Enzo speaks first. "I was going to say something inside, but you seemed..." he pauses to think of the right word, "occupied." He concludes. He means Elena and Caroline were there. My heart beat picks up; he wanted to talk to me. Alone.

"What were you going to say?" I manage to make my voice come out and pray it doesn't portray how I'm actually feeling: nervous as hell.

"Just, thank you." He smiles sincerely and my heart swells at the sight. Again, I can't help but smile back.

"For what?" I nervously giggle and then bite my lip in embarrassment.

"For how you were, everything you did, when I was still me." He answers and there is an overwhelming sadness to his tone that wipes the smile off my face. And then the confusion hits: what is that supposed to mean?

"When you were still you?" I ask with furrowed eyebrows, "what do you mean?"  
He pauses for a few moments and then shakes his head softly.

"Nothing. I just meant before everything that happened." He slips his hands into his pockets and looks at the doors behind me. I can tell he's about to go back inside. Panic wells up inside me at the thought. He's about to go and I'll probably never get the opportunity to talk to him again, not with the expanding popularity he will now experience.

"Do you want to do something next weekend?" I blurt out before I can stop myself. I don't even know if I actually like him, i barely know him. I just know I've never felt a natural attraction like this to anyone before. And I want to see what happens.  
He looks surprised for a moment and then composes himself again. The corners of his mouth turn up into a small smile and my heart soars; he's going to say yes.

"I don't think that it's a good idea." He tells me softly. But the words are not soft to me at all, they are a gut punch. I've been rejected. I blink away the shocked expression on my face and give him my best fake smile. I mentally decide that this is the last time I'm getting the confidence to ask someone out ever again.

"Oh, uh... no worries. It's fine." I say rapidly, praying that he will just go inside now and let me die of embarrassment on my own.

"It's not that I don't want to." He tells me in a reassuring tone. "It's just for the best if I don't. For you." I resist the urge to laugh out loud at the terrible excuse. I'm now sort of angry; he could at least be honest with me.

"Whatever." I mutter and turn to leave. I feel a tug on my arm and suddenly I'm facing Enzo again.

"I'm not lying, Bonnie." He stares intensely into my eyes and I momentarily forget how to breathe from the sound of my name in his voice. "I'm not... a good guy, not anymore." He continues. This makes me compose myself, I'm angry again. He presses his lips tight together and I can tell I'm not getting any more information than that. But it doesn't stop me from trying.

"What the hell does that mean?" I raise my voice a little without meaning to. It feels ridiculous, getting so irate about being rejected by someone I barely even know. But it's not the rejection, it's the reasoning behind it.

"Just trust me." He walks past me, turning one last time to smile apologetically at me and then he's gone. I stand there, stunned. This is the weirdest conversation I have ever had, this type of stuff doesn't happen outside of movies. The whole 'I'm a bad guy, stay away from me' malarkey. Enzo has definitely changed from the guy I used to see around school and feel sorry for. And not just in the way he looks. He's more confident, more composed... more mysterious. There's something else going on and I want to know what.


	3. Chapter 3

I decide to tell Caroline and Elena about the conversation I had with Enzo; we don't hide anything from each other. As I explain it all to them, I can see from the expression on their faces that they're finding it just as strange.

"He's just doing it to keep you interested." Caroline shrugs, confident that she's right. I raise my eyebrows in confusion and she continues. "If you think he's mysterious, you'll want to keep investigating him. All the way to the bedroom." She winks and I lightly punch her arm.

"That's not what's happening." I insist. "You should have seen how serious the look on his face was."

Caroline nods knowingly. "And that's what's selling it. He knows what he's doing. Don't you now want to know what's going on?"

"Yeah, but... it doesn't make sense. Why would he need to do it like that when I'm the one who asked him out." I argue.

"Because if you just go out with him, you'll see how boring he is on the date. This way, you're distracted by the mystery." Caroline's tone gets more confident as her argument goes on.

"How do you know Enzo is boring?" Elena jumps in with an amused smile.

"Logic." Caroline shrugs. I tune out of the conversation then, leaving them to argue about how crazy Caroline's conclusion is. I consider what she's saying, she does have a point. What Enzo said has gotten me interested in him, more than before. I want to know him and why he's changed. But the way he said it... I really believe he wants me to stay away. I decide that Caroline is wrong. But maybe that is just a way for me to justify that I'm still going to find out what's going on with him.

The entire weekend I'm thinking of Enzo. I consider what Caroline said multiple times, if she's right then it has worked. When Monday rolls around I'm actually excited to get to school and see him. It will be his first time back there since he returned. My dad even mentions how early I'm ready for school. I tell him that I just woke up before my alarm, which isn't a lie. But the whole truth is that I barely slept at all. I get to school and my eyes are already scanning the hallways for him as I walk to Elena and Caroline.

"Please don't tell me you're looking for Enzo." Caroline sighs. She knows me too well. My lack of a quick answer confirms this fact for her. "For god sakes, Bonnie. He doesn't have some big mysterious secret."

"I mean, he could. He was missing for over a year, who knows what he was up to." Elena shrugs, partly joking and partly reassuring me that I'm kind of justified in my curiosity.

"I just want to know what he's like now. He seems so different." I insist and it's the truth. "I'm not looking for a mysterious secret." I add and that is mostly a lie.

We continue back and forth with Enzo-themed banter until the bell goes and we head to our separate classes. I have history. I take my seat and start to drag my things out of my bag when I freeze: Enzo is stood at the front of the classroom, waiting to be assigned a seat. My heartbeat picks up and, though I thought embarrassment from our last conversation would flood me when I next saw him, I just felt curious. Whenever I look at him I keep expecting to see the skinny kid with the dishevelled hair and the t shirt that is a size too big. But there he is: all lean and muscles, his hair neat and his shirt hugging his body perfectly. We make eye contact for a moment but he looks away, clearly feeling the embarrassment that my body won't feel for some reason. Eventually he is assigned a seat on the other side of the room to me and the lesson begins.  
Mr Saltzman goes through the project that he has been preparing us for one last time before he sets it today. Everyone in the room shrinks down in dismay, except me. I love history, it's my favourite subject. I love to find out about things I don't know about, which is probably why Enzo intrigues me so much.

"This project is a solitary piece of work. However, since I have been teaching the material for this for a couple of weeks and Enzo... obviously hasn't been here." He clears his throat awkwardly; nobody wants to bring up Enzo's situation. "He can work with a partner on this one to catch him up." His eyes scan the room but I know exactly who he is going to pick: the only one who will actually have a clue what the project is about. Me.

"Bonnie, can you please work with Enzo and help him out with this one?" Mr Saltzman asks and my heart is pummelling so loudly I can barely hear him say it. I nod, not trusting my voice. Mr Saltzman thanks me and then continues to address the entire class. I risk a glance at Enzo and find him looking back at me, his face full of concern. This angers me; am I really that bad?  
I look down at my desk and bite my lip. Whatever Enzo is hiding, this is my chance to figure it out. For better or worse.


	4. Chapter 4

I tell Elena and Caroline that I'm partnered with Enzo during lunch. As I explain what Mr Saltzman said, I'm hit with glares from various places around the room. It seems that other people would have preferred to work with Enzo.

"Can you kiss him just to piss off Katherine?" Caroline asks with a cheeky grin. Katherine is the school popular girl. She has dated both Stefan and Damon and so Elena and Caroline are both very wary of her, to put it lightly. She also looks a lot like Elena which makes it worse.

"Oh, yes please." Elena grins and I laugh. It's not often that Elena ever has an evil plan.

"I'm not kissing Enzo." I make clear, even though they were mostly messing around. I listen while the girls go on a rant about everything Katherine has done to them and as they talk, I catch a glimpse of Enzo through the small window on the doors to the cafeteria. Making a snap decision, I stand up.

"I'll be right back, I just have to talk to someone." I say but I'm walking before I wait for an answer.  
I walk in the direction I saw Enzo heading and eventually I see the back of his head. I run to catch up with him and by the time I'm there, he's heard my footsteps and is facing me. I regret running immediately as my breath struggles to let words out.

"We... need to figure out... how we're doing... the project." I say with deep breaths to fill my lungs with the oxygen they were deprived of. Enzo has an amused smile on his lips and I roll my eyes at him. "Shut up, I'm unfit."

"I didn't say anything" he smoothes out his expression but I can see the smile trying to break through. It gives me a burst of excitement to see that. It goes quiet as we look at each other. His eyes are warm and soft.

"Meet me in the school library at the end of the day. We can get started on the project." I tell him, rather than ask. I guess that I'll get better results that way.  
"Bonnie, I'm not sure that's a great-"

"Just meet me." I cut him off and start walking away before he can argue with me. I figure he'll either show up or he won't and all I can do is hope for the former.

Having plans with Enzo for after school makes the entire school day slow and painful. After what feels like forever, the last bell of the day finally rings. I shove my things into my bag as quickly as I can and rush towards the library, shooting a quick text to Caroline and Elena to let them know not to wait for me. I didn't tell them about the library session; I didn't want to until he actually shows up.  
I burst through the library doors a little too quickly, drawing the attention of everyone inside. I look down at my feet in embarrassment as I glide over to a table and sit down. Enzo isn't here yet but I refuse to give up hope just yet. I get my history things out of my bag and lay them on the table; if Enzo doesn't show I still need to start the project. But I can't bring myself to open the books, I can't tear my eyes away from the door. Time goes even slower than the second half of the school day. The door opens and someone walks in: not Enzo. It opens again, still not Enzo. And finally, it opens a third time and in he walks. I watch his gaze go around the room and land on me. He sighs and walks over to me.

"You came." I can't help but smile. He hovers next to the table as if he can't decide yet whether he's staying. And then he sits down.

"We have to do this project." He explains. I bite my tongue, not wanting to call him out and scare him off.  
I explain the project to him and he listens carefully. And then we get started, opening books to begin our research. We sit there in silence for about an hour. I steal glances at him every so often: his face is serious and focused. He is just interesting to look at, I could stare for hours.  
Our session is interrupted by a shout and we both turn in the direction it came from. A girl is arguing with somebody on the phone and the librarian is trying desperately to keep her quiet. The girl yells into her phone for a while longer and then storms out of the room. The librarian stares after her, silent for a few seconds. Out of nowhere, she loudly shushes in the direction of where the girl went, the noise extended for way to long and then she stomps her foot and walks away. I turn to look at Enzo with raised eyebrows and he turns to look at me. The whole scene was so random that I burst out laughing and, though he tries not to, he laughs too.

"What the hell was that?" I manage to catch my breath to ask.

"I literally have no idea." He laughs. "I can't say I've ever seen anything like that before, and I've seen some things." He shakes his head in disbelief and I laugh some more. I do wonder what he means when he says he's seen some things, but I don't say anything. The dramatic event starts a conversation between us and Enzo forgets that he's not really speaking to me. We laugh some more and describe some of the strangest things we've seen.  
"Strangely, more funny random things happened to me more before I disappeared." He says and my smile falters a little. He hasn't talked about being missing before. It goes quiet and I think that he isn't going to say anymore but he does. "Everyone acts so serious around me now. Like they think I might freak out if they crack a joke."

"What was it like when you disappeared?" I ask before I think. I do that too much. "I'm sorry. You don't have to answer that." I shake my head in disbelief at myself.

"It's okay." He gives me a small smile. "It was scary, waking up alone and not knowing where you are." He starts and I can tell by his glazed eyes that he's fully in the memory of it. "But the hardest part was figuring out who I had become."  
I want to ask what he means but I restrain myself. I bet this is already difficult for him to talk about.

"It must have been hard to go through it all alone." I murmur and the corners of his mouth twitch and his eyes go hard. I don't understand why he looks so put out by what I said... unless he wasn't alone. I push the thought out of my head and scold myself; I need to stop making a conspiracy about everything to do with Enzo.

"Yeah." He says dejectedly and his eyes don't meet mine. I feel bad for bringing it up, especially when he was finally beginning to talk to me. "I need to get home." He then says, standing up.

"Oh. Okay, I..." I get cut off by him walking away abruptly. I sigh and lean back in my seat; Enzo now hates me even more than before. Maybe I can salvage this tomorrow. I think about the conversation, there is definitely something that Enzo isn't saying. What does me mean when he says that he had to figure out who he had become?


	5. Chapter 5

I barely get any sleep that night. I feel like an idiot for not having a filter and I know that the conversation could have gone differently, so much better. I wake up before my alarm again and I'm dressed and downstairs two hours early. I hear the sound of the news coming from the living room and I walk over to the doorway to see my Dad sitting on the sofa. I listen to the woman talking on the tv.

"The body of a young man has been found at the edge of the river near park street early this morning." She says in a serious tone. A body? I think to myself. "Police are working to determine the cause of death but it is suspected that the man was involved in foul play." She continues. Foul play, basically a way of saying murdered. My heart skips a beat; nothing bad ever happens in mystic falls. That's why Enzo's disappearance was so shocking.

"Bonnie, I didn't see you there." My Dad jumps as he notices me in the doorway.

"Sorry, I was just listening to the news." I say. "There's been a body found?"

"Yeah. It's awful. The things that have been happening lately, this town is like a different place." He shakes his head in disgust.

"Yeah. I'm going to get to school." I mention and he nods. He doesn't even notice that I'm very early. Clearly this situation is freaking him out. I just want to get to school and see the damage I've caused with Enzo.

I keep an eye out for Enzo all morning before class but I don't see him. I decide to tell Caroline and Elena about what I said but for some reason I leave out the confusing things he said. I don't want them to know and I don't know why. Maybe I'm worried about what they will say, but why?

"Bonnie, you really need to learn to get a filter." Caroline laughs. She finds it all quite amusing. Elena feels a little more sorry for me.

"He won't hate you, Bon." She insists and I shake my head.

"He already hates me. I've just confirmed why for him." I shrug. The bell chimes, signalling the first subject of the day. Positive note, I think this was a lesson that Enzo was in with me before he went missing. Negative note, this was a lesson Enzo was in... I have no idea what to say to him but I know I have to say something.

I make my way into the English lesson and take my seat next to Elena. She chats to me about general life but I'm only half listening; I'm staring at the door waiting for Enzo to walk in. But he doesn't. The lesson begins and there is no sign of Enzo. Maybe I was wrong and he wasn't in this lesson before. Or maybe his subjects have been switched around, it would make sense to give him a new timetable. I know that I have history later, so if I don't see him before then at least I know I will see him at all.

The morning passes and it's soon lunchtime. I keep my eye out for Enzo again but I don't see him. I start to wonder if maybe he is avoiding me. I anxiously wait for lunchtime to end so that I can get to history. As soon as the bell rings, I jump to my feet. This earns me weird looks from Elena and Caroline but I ignore them and rush to history. I'm the first person there and it takes five whole minutes before another person even enters the classroom. Once they start filing in, I watch for Enzo like a hawk. But he doesn't come in. I'm waiting even as the class begins, hoping he's late. But he doesn't arrive and I realise he isn't going to: he isn't in today.  
A thought crosses my mind: how strange it is that Enzo isn't in on the same day as the news announces that there has been a body found. And how he said I should stay away because he is 'a bad guy since he's come back'. I push the thought out of my head, disgusted with myself. How could I even consider something like that? How could that thought even enter my head. Enzo is probably just sick and I'm considering him for murder. Even though I know I wasn't actually believing that he had anything to do with it, I'm still ashamed that the thought popped up. I settle in to the history lesson, banishing any thoughts of Enzo from my head. I seriously need to get a grip.

Enzo isn't in for three days. I have given up on the notion of talking to Enzo this week, of apologising for bringing up things that must be upsetting for him. And surprisingly, the knowledge of the fact that I'm not going to see him this week actually improves my sleep. I wake up to my alarm on Friday morning, feeling well rested for the first time in days. I get showered and dressed and then head downstairs. My Dad is sat at the kitchen table, reading a newspaper with a coffee. He barely acknowledges me as he reads the news with a concerned expression.

"Everything okay?" I ask as I pour myself some coffee to take to school with me.  
"They found out what killed that young man the other day." He tells me, still looking at the paper. "It was an animal attack."

"Oh, wow." Is all I can manage, I'm surprised. I didn't think we had animals big enough to kill anyone. "What kind of animal?"

"A wolf, they think. That's the only native animal it could possibly be." He shrugs his shoulders. "There's been another person killed, another young man." He sighs and I can see the stress lines forming. "The police want everyone to go straight home after school, no hanging around outside. And there's a curfew set for 7:00pm." He shoots me a warning look, daring me to try breaking it. I just nod my head.

"I'm going to school, I'll see you later." I tell him and he looks as if he doesn't even want me to leave the house, but he nods and let's me go.

I arrive at school and everyone is talking about the animal attacks. I can hear some conversations as I open my locker. A group of girls are reassuring each other that they will be okay. A few guys are laughing about how the wolf wouldn't stand a chance against them. I roll my eyes at their cockiness. And then I hear a small chuckle from beside me. I spin around quickly to see who it is... it's Enzo. He's back at school.

"You don't trust their manliness either?" He jokes and I can't believe the change in his tone. From how cold and distant everything he said when he spoke to me usually was, to this warm jokey vibe. Like we are friends.

"You're talking to me." I announce with surprise. And his eyes harden again as if he just remembered he shouldn't be. I could kick myself, why do I say have things like that.  
"I was just coming to apologise for leaving you to do the project alone for the past few days." He confesses. The truth is that I haven't actually touched the project since the last time I saw Enzo.

"Oh, I was waiting for you to get better." I say and a look crosses his face for a moment. One that says he would rather I had finished the project so that he doesn't have to spend the time with me.

"I guess we'll have to finish it then." He murmurs, more to himself than me. "I'll meet you in the library after school." He adds and then turns to leave.

"Wait!" I call after him, suddenly remembering the curfew. He turns to me. "There's that police order to go straight home after school. And that curfew for 7." I tell him and he looks surprised. He doesn't know that there's a police curfew? I thought everyone knew.

"Oh." Is all he says. But an idea comes into my head: the police want everyone home so that they aren't outside. And the curfew doesn't actually begin until 7pm, so does it matter whose house you're at?

"Come to my house after school. We can do the project there and my Dad can drop you home so that you aren't walking alone." I instruct him. He looks worried with that idea and I wonder if it's because we might be breaking police rules, or whether it's because he has to come to my house and spend time with me. He thinks for a few moments before he answers.

"Okay." He reluctantly says and then turns and walks away. I sigh with relief. I can finally apologise to him for my insensitive behaviour in the library.


	6. Chapter 6

I can't decide whether I'm more excited or nervous that Enzo is coming to my house after school. I'm guessing nervous since the day seems to go by way quicker than normal. There is a part of me that wants the day to go slowly so that I can have more time to prepare myself.  
But the bell signalling the end of the day soon sounds and I'm forced to be prepared. I didn't tell Elena and Caroline that Enzo is coming over. I feel like this whole situation will look weird to everyone else, like they won't understand why I want to find out what's changed with Enzo. And that's because I don't really understand it myself. I don't know why I'm so invested.

"Are we doing something this weekend?" Caroline asks me before I can leave. I resist looking rushed even though I feel it. Enzo could be waiting outside and if I take too long, he could leave.

"Yeah, sure." I wait for her to finish listing options and agree with all of them, letting Elena be the deciding vote. They eventually decide on bikini shopping for some pool party that Tyler is holding next weekend. I feel horrible for wanting to rush away from them but I really don't think that Enzo will wait for me; he doesn't want to come as it is.

"Text me the details. I'll see you tomorrow." I begin to slowly walk away. They nod and wave me goodbye. I wait until I have turned the corner and then I run towards the exit.

I charge the exit door and race into the car park. I don't see Enzo... He must have gone home and left me. I don't know why a pang of sadness washes over me. Maybe it's just the rejection; I'm not used to having somebody dislike me for no good reason.

"Looking for me?" His voice brings a smile to my face and I turn around. He is leaning against the wall, I hadn't noticed him as I rushed outside.

"I thought I took too long." I try to wipe the forming grin away but it breaks through.

"We have to do this project sometime." His words are the same cold ones as before but his tone is so much softer. He doesn't mean it in the same way this time.

"My car is just over there." I point and he looks over at my Toyota Prius. "We should get going."

He nods and follows me over to my car. We get in and my hands shake a little with nerves before I start it. I have never felt this nervous around a boy before. I never understood when girls said they had butterflies, or were too nervous to speak to a guy. I'm always so confident with flirting. But, with Enzo, I can feel the butterflies.

We drive in silence but I notice him open his mouth multiple times, as if he is about to say something, but he decides against it every time and stays quiet. The anticipation kills me every time. I feel like shaking him, forcing him to tell me why he refuses to get along with me when it's so obvious that he wants to. We pull up outside my house and exit the car. He follows me into the house.

"Hey, Bonnie." My Dad calls from another room and I hold my breathe as I walk into that room, with Enzo right behind me. I watch my Dads eyes look to me and then I watch the confusion as they fall on Enzo.

"Dad, I have a favour to ask you." I ball my hands up to stop myself nervously fiddling with my shirt. He looks like he already knows but he asks anyway.

"And what favour would that be?" His eyes don't leave Enzo. He sounds calm but I know he's resisting his irritation because we have a guest.

"Enzo and I," I gesture behind me, "have a project for school. We haven't finished it because he hasn't been very well." I try to read his expression. It's blank. "I was wondering if you could drop him home for the curfew. Since teenagers can't leave the house after 7pm."

His face relaxes when I mention the curfew is at 7. I assume that he has just made the same connection I did at school: the sheriff wants teenagers inside but they don't need to be home until the curfew. "Sure, I'll drop him home." He turns back to the tv he was previously watching. I breathe a sigh of relief and thank him.

I grab Enzo's hand and drag him upstairs to my room. As soon as I enter the room I let go, realising what I'm doing. He looks surprised by my boldness but the truth is, I do that to everyone. I hold peoples hands, it's just what I do. But with Enzo if feels different, like I'm invading his space. It feels personal. I clear my throat and we both awkwardly look at each other for a moment. There's a thick tension that I know for a fact Caroline would describe as sexual. And I'm not sure she would be wrong.

"So, where did we get to?" Enzo breaks the tension and I move to sit on the end of the bed. "With the project" he feels the need to clarify.

"We answered the first two criteria. We have three more." I grab my bag and get the books and started project out of it. I lay them out on the bed. Enzo hovers, unsure of what to do with himself. He doesn't want to sit on my bed. I gesture to the other side of the bed to me, hoping that will entice him more, with a smile on my face. He is still reluctant but does sit down.

We do the project in silence again, like in the school library. I reach for one of the books and, at the same time, so does Enzo. Our fingers touch and I'm about to laugh and tell him to take it, but he pulls his hand away like he's been burnt and it gets to me.

"Why do you hate me so much?" I blurt. "Is it because I brought up things about you being missing?" I cringe at my tactful wording. "Because I'm sorry." I try to salvage the apology I had planned.

"I don't hate you, Bonnie." He looks shocked that I would even think that. What else am I supposed to think?

"In fact, before I did go missing you were the only person I actually liked." He uses the same non-tactful wording and I feel slightly better about mine. "Well, you still are."

He looks into my eyes and I very nearly just nod and accept it. But I know this is my chance to find out why he's been acting like this.

"Why have you been purposely trying to avoid me then?" I swallow away a lump that is forming in my throat. Do. Not. Cry. Bonnie. Bennett.

"I told you, it's better for you if we aren't friends." He sounds exasperated, like I should know this. But I don't know it, I don't understand what he means. "I don't want to drag you into my mess." His voice falters a little and I can hear the pain he is feeling.

"What mess?" I soften my voice so that he knows I'm being understanding, not demanding. His eyebrows crumple up a little as if he is fighting with whether to tell me or not. Or how to nicely let me know me he isn't telling me.

"It doesn't matter." I quickly say, "You don't have to tell me. And then we can be friends, right?" I try not to sound as desperate as I feel. I also feel very pathetic about feeling so desperate. "Because if you don't tell me, I'm not getting into your mess. Whatever that means." I bite my lip as I watch him digest this thought. It's quiet for what feels like way too long.

"Have you seen much of the football team at school?." He asks and I am utterly confused at the change in topic. And then I realise: he is having a friendly conversation with me. He has agreed. We are friends. I can't help but smile.

"Yeah. They're good." I get myself into a comfier position to look at him. "Some of them might even get a scholarship out of it."

"I was thinking about trying out." He also repositions himself and I notice how uncomfortable he must have been before, leaning as far away from me as the bed would let him. He is now laying on his side, our heads about three feet apart.

"You should." I encourage him. He definitely has the right body structure for it. But I'm not going to tell him that. "I bet you would be really good at it." I decide to go with that phrasing.

We talk for hours, right up until the curfew. My Dad comes in and tells us that it's time to take Enzo home. We have barely done any of the project. But it still feels like a productive session; I have gotten Enzo to be my friend. I now know that he likes football, that his favourite subject is also History, that Katherine Pierce has asked him to come to the pool party next week. And that he said no to her. Ha!

I'm learning more about Enzo and I like it. We say goodbye and my Dad takes him back home. I lay on my bed smiling. There is still something very weird going on with him, something he won't tell me. But maybe he will when he trusts me more. I get the feeling that Enzo finds it hard to trust.


	7. Chapter 7

I wake up on Saturday morning with a smile on my face. Enzo has put me in a good mood. I check my phone to see that I have a text from Elena.

E - What time are we going to the mall?

B - When does Caroline want to go?

E - As soon as possible. It’s Caroline ;)

I laugh at the message. Caroline could spend an entire day in the mall and we both know that she is currently sitting in her room, fully dressed, waiting for us to be ready. I send a text to Caroline.

B - Will be ready in 40 mins

C - I’ll pick you up then

I throw the duvet off my body and force myself to leave the comfy bed. I have a quick shower and pull a top and shorts from my wardrobe; it’s supposed to be a warm day today. Well, it’s supposed to be warm for a few weeks - hence the pool party next week. I spread some makeup over my face quickly and brush my wild hair to tame it a bit more. My phone chimes again.

C - Leaving now. Will be @ your house in 20

I head downstairs to let my Dad know where we are going but he isn’t there. He must have gone to work.

Soon, Caroline is outside with Elena in the passenger seat. I get into the back of her car and she starts driving in the direction of the mall.

“So, Enzo came over last night.” I try to sound nonchalant about it but Elena and Caroline are both open-mouthed with surprise.

“Is that’s why you were so rushed after school?” Caroline’s voice takes a higher pitch than normal in her shock. I should have known that she would notice that.

“Maybe.” I give them both my best ‘don’t hate me’ look. “I didn’t know if he would show up, that’s why I didn’t say anything.”

“What happened?” Elena turns to face me properly and I know Caroline is dying to do the same but she, thankfully, keeps her eyes on the road.

“It was just for the history project.” I quickly explain so that they don’t assume anything happened between us. But it doesn’t work.

“Oh my god, did you guys-“ Caroline doesn’t finish her sentence; she knows that I know exactly what she means.

“No!” My voice breaks and I cringe with embarrassment. “We just worked on the project and talked.”

“I thought you said he didn’t want to talk to you.” Elena ponders and I’m thankful that the subject has gone in this direction, rather than Caroline’s direction.

“I spoke to him about that and we’re friends now.” I leave out all of the details. I don’t really know how to explain them. Plus, I know it will launch an intervention from Caroline about red flags and avoiding them, and I want to avoid that.

I change the subject to Damon and Stefan, knowing that will do the trick. The girls talk about how they need to find a bikini that will get their attention at the pool party. Apparently the party is when they’re going to make their move. I’m excited for them, but I also know that it means I’m on my own. I can’t help but get the urge to invite Enzo. But I know he won’t come so I push that urge away.

Elena and I both follow Caroline, knowing she has the best sense when it comes to shopping. She leads us into one of the many stores inside the mall. I don’t even look at the name. She and Elena search through the bikinis, taking it very seriously. I half heartedly flick through the hangers, picking up a cute bikini when I notice one. I end up with three, a big contrast to Elena’s nine and Caroline’s thirteen. I try them on in no more than five minutes and have picked the one I like the best. It’s a simple black one with lacy bottoms. And then I sit and wait for the girls to try on theirs.

As I’m waiting, my phone chimes. I look at the screen and see Enzo’s name. I freeze; I don’t even remember giving Enzo my number. And then I remember. We had to give our number to everyone in the history class for a school trip once... before Enzo went missing. It was for safety if one of us got lost.

En - I emailed the coach about trying out for the team. Fingers crossed

I smile at the screen. We have reached the level of texting. Gone from one extreme to the other, and I like it.

B - He would be stupid not to consider you. Good luck :)

I am still smiling at my phone when Elena exits the changing room with her choice bikini lying on her arm. She raises her eyebrows in question. I consider whether to show her the message or not and decide to do it; I’ve told them that we are friends now.

I turn the phone around and let her see the message.

“I bet he would be great at football.” She considers, completely missing the true meaning for me showing her the text: we’re friends now!

“Who would?” Caroline finally exits her changing room also. Elena tells her about the text and she also considers it and then nods. “Yeah, with his body now, he would be perfect.”

I just nod, staring down at my phone and wait for another text. But it doesn’t come through. Don’t be greedy, Bonnie. Baby steps.

We stay in the same store for a few more hours, looking for more bikini choices for Caroline; she apparently didn’t like any of the ones she picked. Eventually, she finds one she likes and Elena and I breathe out a sigh of relief. We go and get some food and then sit and chat. At 5:30pm, we decide that we better start heading home or we will be cutting it close with the curfew.

Caroline drops me home and I say goodbye and then enter my house. My Dad immediately enters the hallway as soon as I close the door.

“Bonnie, where have you been?” He demands and I’m stunned into silence. I’ve never seen him this angry before. “There’s a curfew for a reason!”

“It’s 6.” Is all I can manage to say. My dad is not an angry man by any means, so to see him this angry makes me worry.

“You’re supposed to stay indoors, why do you think the sheriff asked everyone to go straight home after school?” He is red in the face but his voice isn’t as quite as angry.

“We were inside, in the mall.” I swallow and he relaxes a little bit; the mall is a well populated area, it’s highly unlikely that an animal would attack someone there. “Is everything okay?” I worry.

“There’s been another animal attack, last night at around 9pm.” He rubs his hand across his face and pinches the bridge of his nose. “I just don’t want you out there while this is happening. You get that, right?”

“Yeah, Dad. I’m sorry. I should have texted you to say where I was.” I move to hug him and he squeezes me before letting me go.

I sit and watch tv with him for a while before I get sleepy and head upstairs. I take off my top and shorts and replace them with comfy pjs. I then get into bed and pull out my phone. I create a group chat with Elena and Caroline. We haven’t had one before, Caroline hates them. But it’s easier to talk to them both at the same time.

B - My Dad was really freaked out that we went out today. Apparently there’s been another animal attack

E - Three now? This is getting scary :(

C - Bonnie, why? I hate group chats. And there’s nothing to worry about. The people attacked so far have been out after 7. We won’t be. Simple.

I try to consider what Caroline is saying and it does help me relax. I put my phone on mt bedside table and relax into my sheets. I close my eyes and drift off to sleep.

The sound of my phone chiming wakes me up. It’s pitch black other than the light erupting from my screen and I steal a glance at the time: 3:00am. Who the hell would be texting me at this time?

I look at the screen... Enzo.

En - Look outside

My heartbeat picks up and I jump out of bed and rush to my bedroom window. Surely he wouldn’t actually come to my house at 3 in the morning.

I look at the patio in front of my house and he’s there. He smiles at me and gestures for me to join him. I can’t stop my mouth from hanging open.


	8. Chapter 8

I stare at Enzo blankly for a few seconds longer, trying to decipher whether this is just a dream. Surely I’m about to wake up and find that Enzo is not standing outside my house right now.

He watches me stare at him with confusion all over his face. And then he pulls out his phone and starts typing on it. When he’s finished, he looks up at me and my phone chimes right on que.

En - Come down

As if it is a lack of understanding of his gesture to join him that is preventing me from going down. I bite my lip as I consider it. The entire town is following a curfew, everyone is staying safe indoors. And here’s Enzo, trying to get me to come outside. But watching him stand down there, hands in his pockets, I can’t help but want to.

I quickly change into some leggings and a top and tiptoe downstairs, trying not to wake up my Dad. Enzo is stood on my doorstep as I open the door. He opens his mouth and I put my finger to my lips to prevent him from talking before I shut the door.

“What are you doing here?” I’m still whispering, even though it is highly unlikely that my Dad can hear me now. He notices this and smiles.

“I was bored and I thought you might want to join me.” He speaks at a normal volume and I flinch, looking up at my fathers window. The room stays dark and still.

“You have my number. You could have texted to ask.” I shrug and he grins at me.

“You wouldn’t have said yes. You’re too safe.” He starts walking backwards, eyebrows raised. He’s trying to prove his point. I huff and follow after him to prove him wrong. I can be a rule breaker when I want to.

We walk quite a long way, taking rural pathways and turns. I couldn’t find my way back on my own, that’s for sure. When we have been walking for about twenty minutes, I realise that I am just blindly following someone that I barely know. For all I know, Enzo is killing people and making it look like animal attacks. But I feel completely safe following him and so I keep going. I just know he wouldn’t hurt me somehow.

Eventually we come to a children’s park. There’s multiple slides and climbing frames, it’s a big one. Enzo stops in the middle of the park and turns to face me. I give him a questioning look.

“When I said I wanted to be your friend, I didn’t realise that would entail you kidnapping me, in the middle of the night, to bring me to... a park.” I gesture at the play equipment to emphasise my point. He chuckles.

“Parks are fun. And you came of free will.” He reminds me and I smile.

“Yes I did.” I admit. I walk around him and sit on the edge of the climbing frame behind him. “So why are we out here in the middle of the night?”

“Because you aren’t allowed out in the day time with this police order thing, so the night is all we’ve got.” He joins me on my make-shift seat.

“You mean we aren’t allowed out.” I point out and his expression turns the same way it did when I mentioned how alone he must have felt while he was gone. The kind that says I’m not completely right. I decide not to mention it.

“Come on.” He jumps up and holds his hands out for me. I smile and take them.

I let him drag me over to one of the slides. He gestures for me to climb up and I do. He follows me and when I sit down at the top, he sits behind me. He slide down together, laughing when he both get stuck half way. He wiggles until we start to slide again and we shoot off the end, landing with a thud on the floor.

We continue to try the play equipment until my chest hurts from laughing and my cheeks hurt from smiling. I’m out of breathe so I lie down on the floor and look up at the sky. He joins me on the floor but he doesn’t seem out of breathe at all.

“I’m glad you’ve decided to be my friend.” I sigh happily and I feel him tense up beside me.

“You shouldn’t be glad, it’s selfish of me.” He murmurs almost too quiet for me to hear. I turn onto my side to face him and he does the same.

“Why is it selfish?” I prop my head up on my hand. He takes a few moments to think about his answer.

“It’s just not very safe.” He says slowly. I can tell he is struggling with the wording.

“Why, because you kidnap your friends during dangerous curfews?” I giggle and he smiles at me and flips onto his back again. I stay on my side to look at him. “Why aren’t you scared that we’re going to be attacked by the wolf? We’re out in the open.”

“We’ll be fine. Trust me.” His voice is even but serious. And I believe him. I believe that I will be okay as long as I’m with him. I also start to wonder if maybe he doesn’t believe that there have been any animal attacks at all, that we are in no danger.

I shiver, realising that I’m cold. I should have grabbed a jacket before I came out. Enzo sits up.

“You’re cold.” He acknowledges, shaking off his jacket and giving it to me. “We should get you home.”

“Okay. Thanks.” I stand up with him but I’m disappointed. I wish we could stay out together for longer. I wear his jacket as we walk back to my house, chatting away like old friends. We talk about things from before, the way he remembers things being and how those things have changed: such as, he remembers Katherine being with Damon, he says he was surprised that Katherine asked him to the party because he didn’t know they ended. It feels like it’s been so long since Katherine and Damon broke up, it shocks me that he hasn’t been here since then. I talk about how my friends are now in love with the Salvatore brothers and how Katherine has had many boyfriends since them.

We talk like it’s the easiest thing in the world. But we are soon back at my house and I’m not ready to go back inside.

“So...” I say, to buy more time. I swing from the front to the ball of my foot, over and over again. It’s a nervous thing, and I’m nervous because I want Enzo to kiss me. I’ve decided that, I decided half way home. Even though I keep telling myself that I’m just curious about Enzo, I can’t deny that I have feelings for him.

Enzo steps towards me and I can tell that he wants the same thing. He wants to kiss me, and he’s going to. He steps forward again. I lightly grab the middle of his shirt, preparing for our kiss. And then he looks down at my hand, clutched around his shirt, and it’s as if realisation has suddenly hit him. He takes a step back, expanding the distance between us.

“I had a good time. I’m glad we’re friends.” He says and I smile and look at the floor. But I’m not smiling with happiness; Enzo just friend zoned me. The smile is more to hide how disappointed I feel.

“I had a good time too.” I nod, reaching for the handle on my front door. “Goodnight, Enzo.”

“Goodnight, Bonnie.” He answers and turns to walk away. I enter my house and close the door behind me.

I walk up to my bedroom and fall face first onto my bed. I have never felt mixed emotions like this before. I look at the time: 6:00am. I’ve been with Enzo for three hours.

I close my eyes and try to sleep for a few more hours but I have too many thoughts whirring in my head. Now that I’m inside, with heating, I start to get warm and I realise that I’m still wearing Enzo’s jacket. I take it off, ball it up, and throw it in the corner.

And then I stand up, smooth it out and place it over my desk chair. I guess I’m not ready to be angry at Enzo.


	9. Chapter 9

Sunday is a weird day for me. I spend the entire morning trying to decide whether to text Enzo, wait for him to text me or to delete his number. My Dad isn’t home and I take that as a good thing; I’m too distracted to try and have a normal conversation with him.

After some pointless deliberation, I check the time on my phone. It’s 12:00. I open the news app on my phone, out of boredom and find that there is another dead body, this time a teenager. This news is followed by a statement from Ms Forbes, bringing the curfew down to 6pm, rather than 7. I get a huge rush of panic as I read the date and time of death of the teenager: Saturday night, just after I got home...

B - Enzo, are you okay?

I don’t bother questioning how desperate that text seems, whether I sent a text too quick, whether I’m being weird. I don’t think about any of the usual things that cross my mind when I’m texting someone I like. All I can think is that a teenager was killed around the time Enzo would be walking home. And I’m worried.

Ten minutes passes without any response. I tap my nails on the table nervously. An hour passes, still nothing. Some more time passes, it must have been a few hours because my Dad comes through the door.

B - Enzo, I’m worried

I quickly send before I put my phone in my pocket and rush to my Dad. He is friends with Caroline’s mom and so if any civilian knows the identify of the teenager, before it’s been made public, it’s my Dad.

“Hey, Bonnie.” He greets me. I quickly say hello and then ask the important question before I burst.

“Do you know who the teenager was?” I’m speaking so fast it takes him a second to catch up. “The recent animal attack.” I clarify.

He looks surprised at my question and I resist rushing his answer. “No, I don’t. Why are you asking?”

I sigh audibly. “I’m worried it’s one of my friends.” is all I say. He shakes his head.

“Caroline and Elena are both fine.” He rubs my arm to reassure me. This time I shake my head.

“I mean another friend.” I leave the room before I cry. This has made me realise just how much I care about Enzo, and in such a short amount of time.

On Monday morning, it’s back to not sleeping. Such a short respite it was. I’m ready an hour before my alarm and that’s only because I spent 3 hours just lying in bed, awake. I say good morning to my Dad and leave straight away, without looking at the news; I’m too worried to find out whether the dead teenager is Enzo.

I check my phone for replies from Enzo three times before I start driving. I check it again when I park in the school parking lot and I check it repeatedly as I enter the school building.

I check around for signs of sad teenagers, people who have just found out that someone they know is dead. But everyone seems normal. As I scan the room for reactions, my gaze falls on somebody standing at the end of the hallway... Enzo!

I breathe out a huge sigh of relief and smile at him. I decide that I’m going to scold him for not replying to my text and leaving me worried. He catches my eye and my smile deepens. Maybe I won’t scold him, yet. He looks down at the floor awkwardly and then walks away. I get the feeling that my texts were being ignored on purpose.

Angry, I stomp over to Elena and Caroline. They both give me a questioning look and I huff to outline my exasperation.

“So, long story short, Enzo and I hung out and now he is ignoring me.” I say before they can even ask me why I’m annoyed.

“You hung out?” Caroline of course only picks that part of the sentence out. “When?”

“Saturday night.” I bite my lip nervously, waiting for them to tell me I’m reckless. That the curfew is there for a reason. Elena and Caroline look at each other for a moment and then turn back to me.

“You really like him, don’t you?” Elena asks and I slump against the locker behind me. I nod my head and they both smile sympathetically.

“Right.” Caroline claps her hands together, matter of factly. I’m about to hear some of her wisdom, whether I want to or not. “You need to find him, drag his ass somewhere he can’t get away from you until he listens and tell him that he’s being a jerk.”

“And tell him that he will lose you if he doesn’t start treating you better.” Elena adds and I nod slowly. Maybe they are right. Maybe I need to put my foot down and stop being scared that I’ll spook him. He’s already ignoring me, what’s the worst that could happen?


	10. Chapter 10

I spend the morning coming up with what I’m going to say, deciding what I’m going to bring up and wondering if I should write it all down so that I don’t talk too much. By the time it’s lunch, I’m as prepared as I can be.

“You go, Bon.” Caroline cheers me on as I storm into the hall to look for him. “Show him who’s boss.”

I leave the girls and glare around the room, searching for Enzo. A few eyes divert away from me, worried that I’m looking for them. Good I think to myself. If my face has these people worried, I hope it will have Enzo worried too.

Enzo isn’t in the cafeteria so I continue my search in other areas of the school. I can’t find him anywhere. I’m about to give up when a thought comes into my head. The first place I met Enzo, after he got back, was outside of the building he was supposed to be in. I push the front doors of the school open and sure enough, Enzo is leaning against the wall.

He spots me and starts walking away. “Oh no, you don’t!” I yell after him and grab his arm to stop him. I spin him around to face me. He raises his eyebrows at me, confused at my physicality.

“Bonnie, I have to go.” He gestures to the football field. Did he make the team? I knew he was asking to try out.

“You’re not leaving until you listen to what I have to say.” I demand, taking Caroline’s advice. He huffs in irritation but gestures for me to continue.

“Well then... speak.” He folds his arms impatiently. This stuns next into silence for a few seconds. I forget everything I was supposed to say.

“You’re being a dick!” I manage to say and he looks surprised at my outburst. I was supposed to be calm, collected and smart. I was supposed to make him feel like a dick, without actually calling him one.

“Look, Bonnie...” he rubs his hand through his hair.

“No, stop. I’m talking first.” I demand and he nods and lets me proceed. “You have been sending some weird mixed signals, buddy.” I cringe at my use of ‘buddy’.

“One second, we’re friends. The next second, you’re ignoring me.” I laugh humourlessly. “It’s ridiculous.”

“I know.” He says and I’m stunned into silence again. I hadn’t expected him to admit to it. Not that quickly.

“Right.” I put my confident face back on. “So, you need to either be my friend or not. Because this switch is getting old.” I shrug.

“Listen, Bonnie. I want to be your friend, I do. You have no idea how hard it’s been.” He leans back against the wall of the school building. “But we shouldn’t be friends.”

“Stop saying that, it means nothing to me!” I yell. “It means nothing, because you won’t tell me why.”

“It’s not that simple.” He shakes his head, racking his brain for an explanation he can give me. “There are things you don’t know about me. Things I can’t tell you, and I don’t want to lie to you. So we just shouldn’t talk.”

I pause for a moment, contemplating whether to ask my next question. “Did something happen to you while you were missing?” I ask. I figure that he doesn’t want to talk to me anyway, what’s the harm in trying to get some answers.

He is silent for such a long time that I think the conversation is done. I’m about to turn and walk away, defeated. But then he speaks. “Yes.”

I’m shocked. I hadn’t expected that answer but at the same time, I had. The look on his face is heartbreaking, he looks in pain. Like he wants to tell me everything but can’t bring himself to do it.

“You don’t have to tell me anything, not until you’re ready.” I soften my voice a lot. I’m not angry anymore.

“What if I’m never ready?” Some irritation appears in his expression and I shrug.

“Then you don’t trust me enough, and that’s fine. We can still be friends though.” I relax my posture and breathe out a long breath. The adrenaline that kept me angry is gone and I’m just tired now.

“I want to tell you everything.” He says and I look into his eyes. I can see that he’s telling the truth, that he wants to trust me. “But I’m afraid of your reaction.”

“Don’t be.” I step towards him and put my hand on his arm. “When you’re ready, you won’t be afraid of my reaction. Because you’ll see that I’ll accept anything about you.”

Suddenly, and unexpectedly, Enzo grabs my face in his hands and pulls my lips to his. We share a deep kiss. It’s a hundred times better than I could have ever imagined it to be. I wrap my arms behind his neck and deepen the kiss even more. He pulls away and disappointment fills me. I wish it could have gone on forever.

“I have to go.” He says and I sigh. He laughs and shakes his head. “I’m not going back to ignoring you, Bonnie. I have football try outs.” He gestures to the field.

I nod, not trusting my voice to actually come out. He smiles softly, kisses my forehead and walks away from me. I stand perfectly still, also not trusting my legs to work anymore.


	11. Chapter 11

I watch Enzo disappear onto the football field before I can finally breathe again. My lips are tingling, my head is rushing. I have an adrenaline surge pounding around my body and I just want to scream in excitement. Instead, I run into the school building to find Caroline and Elena.

I find them sitting in the lunch hall, waiting for my input. Elena smiles warmly at me and I realise that my face must be giving away what happened.

“It went well?” Elena grins and Caroline wiggles her eyebrows.

“He... kissed me.” I breathe out, my voice slightly wobbly still from my adrenaline rush. Caroline shakes her head but I can see the smile on her face.

“I’ve never seen you like this before.” Elena shrugs, still grinning. They are both happy for me, I can see.

“I really like him.” I slouch down into the chair and rest my chin on my knees. Caroline and Elena both nod.

“We can tell.” Caroline giggles and I just sink down, the adrenaline finally dissipating and allowing me to relax.

I don’t really join in with the chatter for the rest of lunch, I also don’t feel hungry enough to eat. I just sit, daydream and glance around for Enzo. Chances are, he won’t be done with football try outs for a while. But I still look.

The rest of the school day, I can’t focus on anything. The teachers drone on in the background and I can’t hear a word they’re saying. I wish I had history, so I could work on the project with Enzo, the project that we still haven’t finished.

When the last bell of the day chimes through the building my heart sings in relief. I take my phone out of my bag and check it for messages... none. No Enzo. I quickly type out a message.

B - How did tryouts go?

A perfectly reasonable message to send. I don’t seem clingy, right?

I leave the class, saying goodbye to Elena and Caroline as I go. By the look on their faces, I know they can tell who I’m thinking about. I keep glancing at my phone as I walk towards the exit, hoping for a text. Something like “hey Bonnie, meet me in the library” or something like that. Something to stop me from going home without seeing him.

With no response, and feeling deflated, I push through the exit doors and begin heading over to my car.

“It went well, thank you.” A voice calls out behind me. I smile immediately, knowing that voice. I turn to find Enzo leaning against the school building, in the same place I yelled at him earlier. The same place he kissed me.

“So are you in?” I ask. He walks towards me, until he’s a few steps away from me and pushes my hair behind my ears. My face tingles from his touch.

“I’m in.” He says but I barely hear it. All I can hear is my heart pumping as he looks into my eyes. “I’ll see you later.” His voice melts like butter and all I can do is nod.

“Wait, later?” I clarify as he starts walking away, allowing me to break from my trance. He faces me again and nods. “We can’t keep going out, it’s dangerous.”

“Okay, Bonnie.” He smiles and there is a different meaning behind his smile, I can see it. But I can’t tell what it means. I can never tell what it means, and it frustrates me.

And then he’s gone. I’m left standing in the school car park, questioning what Enzo is doing. Again. I quickly get into my car, when I realise that most of the other cars have left, and I drive home.

I wait for Enzo to text me. He doesn’t. A few hours pass and I’m patiently waiting. Another hour passes and I’m not so patiently waiting.

B - seriously Enzo, if you’re coming to take me to that park again don’t. We can’t go out after curfew.

I don’t get a reply. That’s the most annoying thing about Enzo, he never replies to his messages. But I can cope with that, most of the time. This time though...

I must have fallen asleep because I am woken up to the chime of my phones text sound. It’s 3:00am, and my heartbeat picks up immediately, ruining any chances of me falling back asleep. Sure enough, there’s a text from Enzo.

En - look outside

I take a deep breathe and stand up to look outside. But when I turn to my window, Enzo is there. Right outside the window, looking at me. I gasp loudly and fling my hand to my mouth, resisting the urge to scream at the sudden unexpected appearance of a person. My window is second story, how did he even get up there?

“What are you doing?” I hiss as I open the window and he clambers in. He straightens himself out and smiles at me.

“You said you didn’t want to go out, so I came in.” He grins and plops down on my bed. I can’t help but laugh at how ridiculous he is but it’s not funny. My dad could walk in at any time, and we would both be dead. Do his parents not notice when he sneaks out all the time?

“At least it’s safer.” I mutter and he chuckles softly. I try to stay angry, but looking at his face, looking at how he is sitting on my bed, smiling at me... I’m glad he is here.


	12. Chapter 12

I sit and chat with Enzo for what feels like no time at all, but when I look at the clock it says that it is 6:00am. No amount of time feels long enough with Enzo.

“You should get some sleep.” He murmurs, playing with my hair. We have settled into a comfy position, him laying against my pillows while I lay against him.

“I don’t want to.” I reply but it barely comes out as a whisper. I’m so tired, my voice is failing me.

“Yes, you do.” He laughs, wrapping his arms around me and leaning his chin against the top of my head. I can still hardly believe that he could go from ignoring me, to hugging me like this, in a matter of moments.

“I don’t want you to leave.” I tilt my head up to look him in the eye and he smiles softly at me and kisses my forehead.

“Then I won’t go.” He states, closing his eyes to emphasise his point. This wakes me up a little and I sit up and turn to face him.

“My Dad...” I try to find the right words. ‘My dad will kill you’ seems too strong.

“I’ll be gone before he wakes up.” He reassures me, somehow managing to shift us both so that we are lying down next to each other, my head on his chest and his arm around me. It happened so quickly I barely even felt the movement. It takes me a few seconds to get my bearings.

“Just make sure you are, for your sake.” I grin into his chest and I feel him vibrate with gentle laughter.

“Okay, Bonnie.” He says, like he did at the school. There’s a hidden meaning behind his tone, of course. There always is with Enzo. Something tells me that, this time, the hidden meaning is ‘your dad doesn’t scare me’. But he is far to polite to ever say that.

We lay there in silence for a while and I very nearly fall asleep, but a thought pops into my mind. I lift my head, checking for signs that he is still awake but his face is perfectly smooth. He looks peaceful, far too peaceful to not be sleeping, so I place my head back where it was and close my eyes again.

“What?” His voice rattles through me. Apparently he is awake after all.

“Nothing, I just...” I bite my lip, internally scolding myself for how nervous I am to ask a simple question. “I was just wondering if you would come with me to Tyler’s pool party this weekend?” I don’t look at his face, unsure I want to see his expression. He’s already turned Katherine’s invite down, maybe pool parties aren’t his thing.

“If you want me there, I’ll go with you.” He replies and I breathe out a sigh of relief. Now that wasn’t so hard, was it Bonnie?

“I do.” I smile and he gently squeezes me in response.

“Go to sleep, Bonnie.” He instructs, with a slightly scolding tone. I nod my head but my thoughts are buzzing. I can’t help but think of everything Enzo has said and how he has acted. I always overthink more at night, and this isn’t an exception. Even with Enzo lying next to me. “What is it?” He asks with a sigh.

“Nothing...” I start to say but Enzo sits up and I fall away from his grasp.

“I can feel your heart beating, you clearly have something on your mind. I can’t sleep with your heart pounding like that.” He feigns exasperation but I can tell that he isn’t really bothered. He doesn’t seem tired at all, actually.

“You’ve just been different since you came back, and I can’t figure out what’s changed.” I shrug, admitting that I don’t even really understand what I mean. “It’s just been bugging me.”

“I’m bound to have changed, Bonnie. I spent a long time on my own.” He sounds mechanical with his explanation, like it’s rehearsed.

“t’s just, sometimes, you say things that make it seem like...” I pause, trying to find a better way to explain myself. But there isn’t a better way. “Like maybe you weren’t alone.” I hold my breathe as I try to judge his reaction. His face is blank, plain. No emotion.

“I wasn’t.” He finally whispers, after what feels like an eternity of silence. I gasp before I can stop myself at his response. Even though I had suspicions, even though I questioned things, I never expected it to actually be true.

“Enzo...” I try to find the right words. The words that express how truly shocked and concerned I am. But I can’t find any words at all.

“I can’t tell you anymore than that, so don’t ask.” He practically pleads. “I’m only telling you this much so that you stop driving yourself crazy, like you apparently have been all this time.”

“Why haven’t you told the police?” I ask a little too loudly. I’m not overly concerned that my dad will hear us though.

“Bonnie, please just drop it. I’m fine, that’s all you need to know.” His face is full of regret, probably for telling me. So I put on my best calm face and nod, trying to relieve some of that regret; he’ll never trust me if this is how I react.

“Okay, I’ll drop it.” I admit, my voice shaky. He pulls me against him, into a hug and I press myself into him.

Who was Enzo with? Who is he too scared to tell anyone about? Should I be telling someone about this? I don’t know what to do, I’ve never been in a situation like this before. I’ve never met someone like Enzo before.


	13. Chapter 13

I must have managed to fall asleep at some point, but I don’t remember doing it. For hours I tossed and turned, unable to stop thinking about what Enzo has said: he wasn’t alone. All of the time he was missing, someone was with him. Someone he was too scared to tell anyone about.

I wake up to the pounding alarm sound, my head immediately aching from the lack of rest. I hit the ‘snooze’ button and roll over, willing sleep to take away my headache.

“Bonnie, you’re late for school!” My Dads voice calls as my bedroom door crashes open. And then I’m wide awake...

I sit upright in bed, ready to defend my reasoning for having a boy in my bedroom, in my bed. But before I open my mouth, I realise that Enzo is gone. Like he said he would be.

“This isn’t like you, did your alarm not go off?” My Dad interupts my thoughts. I glance at my clock, the alarm just went off. I should have loads of time.

It’s late... two hours past the start of school, late. Enzo must have changed my alarm time, probably knowing I would need the sleep after his confession. He always knows how I’m feeling, even if he doesn’t say it. I can just tell.

“Bonnie?” He barges into my thoughts again. I shake my head this time, confirming that my alarm did not go off at the right time. “Well, get to school,” he closes the door behind him as he leaves and I’m left, wide awake now, still in bed.

I get dressed and ready for the day quickly. I want to see Enzo, to scold him and thank him for changing my alarm. I’m not sure which will come first yet.

I rush downstairs to find my Dad waiting for me, clearly wanting to speak to me about something. I wait for him to start talking, my eye constantly flickering to the door without meaning to.

“I don’t want you to go to the pool party this weekend,” He eventually says and my heart sinks. I open my mouth to answer but he stops me. “No, Bonnie, don’t argue with me. It’s too dangerous at the moment.”

“Dad, there hasn’t been another attack since the last one,” I defend anyway. “Plus, we’ll be in Tyler’s gated garden, with a bunch of people there. No animal would attack us there!”

“I’m worried, Bonnie,” he sinks down into the kitchen chair and I feel bad; I don’t want him to worry, I hate making him worry.

“I’ll be fine, I promise you. That’s how confident I am,” I smile brightly at him and he can’t stop himself from smiling back. I can see that I’m convincing him, so I make a break for the door before he can talk himself out of it again. “Bye, Dad. I’ll see you later.”

By the time I get to the school, it’s nearly lunch time so I just sit in my car and wait. Before Enzo, I wouldn’t have bothered to come in at all: I just want to see him again. I’m always thinking about the next time I’ll get to see him.

While I’m sat there, daydreaming, I am suddenly startled by a knock on the passenger window. I immediately relax, however, when I see who it is and unlock the door for him.

“Were you planning on coming into the building at some point?” He grins as he slides into the seat gracefully. My cheeks flush pink, the way they always do when I’m around him.

“I’d rather spend some time alone with you.” I reach my hand across to him and he takes it in his. He moves it towards his face and kisses the top of my hand, then relaxes it onto his lap.

And then, just like that, the moment is ruined by the memory of what he told me. I force the smile to stay on my face, not wanting to make him regret telling me. But I am scared for Enzo, scared that there is more to the story and scared that he isn’t okay.

“What is it?” He asks. He still doesn’t miss a thing, good to know. I smile and shrug my shoulders but he continues to stare at me until I answer him.

“I’m just worried about you.” I pull my hand from his and place it on his cheek, tracing circles with my thumb.

“Would it help you to know that I’m okay?” His face is serious with a hint of sadness in it, but the sadness isn’t for him, it is for me; he doesn’t want me to be worried.

“It would help me to know that you weren’t stuck with someone bad, someone dangerous...” I bite my lip and watch his face for any changes in his forever stable expression. It stays expressionless, but that actually gives me my answer. “But you can’t tell me that, can you?” I hold my breathe, “because you were with someone dangerous, weren’t you? ”

“Bonnie...” he closes his eyes and sadness fills me; He was stuck somewhere, scared and with someone dangerous. Did this person take him? Is that why he even disappeared?

“Enzo, who is this person?” I interrupt him, anger filling my voice. He turns away from me, dropping my hand, clearly fed up with my persistence. I scoff; I’m worried about him, and he’s annoyed that I care?

“I’m fine, look at me!” He yells and I flinch, not expecting it. “I’m perfectly fine, so just drop it. For the last time, drop it. It’s not something I want to keep reliving!”

I am stunned into silence, and then sadness. I feel terrible, of course he wouldn’t want to relive that. He wants to forget the entire thing and that’s understandable, but I have been pushing and pushing for answers. I thought I was helping, that I would find this person and fix everything. How stupid.

“I’m so sorry,” I manage to get the words out eventually. He looks into my eyes and shakes his head, silently letting me off the hook. It’s quiet again for a few minutes before Enzo speaks again.

“Let’s skip the rest of the day.” He clicks his seatbelt on, emphasising that it is not just a suggestion.

“W-what?” I stammer.

“You’ve already skipped the morning, why not skip the rest? I have something I want to show you.”


End file.
